New platforms are shiny. Promises of automation, AI, and real-time analytics sound great – especially when your current system feels sluggish or underwhelming.
But before your team kicks off an RFP or explores switching providers, it’s worth asking a tough-but-honest question: Are we really using what we already have?
Whether you’re on SAP Ariba, Coupa, Oracle, Jaggaer, or a homegrown patchwork, these five questions can help you decide if the problem is the tool or how it’s being used.
Are We Using the Features We’re Paying For?
Most procurement platforms are packed with capabilities – guided buying, supplier scorecards, risk scoring, and contract clause libraries. But many organizations only scratch the surface.
- Do you know what modules are licensed vs. actually in use?
- Are your teams trained on how to use them well?
- Are you seeing measurable outcomes tied to feature usage?
How Well Are Our Tools Aligned to Our Actual Process?
Your process might look beautiful on paper. But in practice, it may be riddled with exceptions, shadow spreadsheets, and off-system purchases.
- Is the system configured to match how your teams actually buy and approve?
- Are approval workflows helping or hindering?
- Are people creating workarounds – and why?
Where Is the User Friction Happening?
It’s not always a change management problem if people resist the system. Sometimes, it’s a design problem.
- Are buyers defaulting to manual because the system is confusing?
- Is supplier onboarding fast and smooth, or a black hole?
- Can stakeholders get what they need without calling procurement?
Are We Getting the Right Data – and Trusting It?
You can’t optimize what you can’t measure. But if your reports don’t match reality, you’ve got a trust issue.
- Are you confident in your spend categorization?
- Do dashboards reflect actual activity, or just what’s in the system?
- Is finance using procurement’s data for planning?
Have We Taken the Time to Evaluate System Fit?
Sometimes, the tool truly isn’t the right one. That’s okay. But the decision to move on should be based on data, not frustration.
- Have you done a formal utilization review?
- Have you benchmarked against similar companies?
- Have you explored whether reconfiguration or training could solve the core issues?
The Takeaway
Switching systems is a major undertaking – financially, technically, and organizationally. Before you take that leap, make sure you’ve fully understood what’s working, what’s not, and whether you’re leaving value on the table.
A Procurement Health Check is often the fastest, least disruptive way to get those answers.
